Trying To Lose Weight During Chemo

During treatment, many cancer patients question why they lose weight throughout the process. This is very common, but If you lose more than 3 pounds within one week,  you should report it to your physician. Weight loss can be attributed to the cancer itself and the treatment you are receiving.

In an attempt to fight the cancer cells, the body produces cytokines, which can lead to a loss of appetite and muscle mass, leading to weight loss. Treatments like radiation and chemotherapy are commonly known to cause a loss of appetite for cancer patients. Other times, a patient may seem to be eating enough, yet can still lose weight.

Weight loss in cancer patients can be a result of the cancer itself or nutrition-related side effects that affect your food intake, such as nausea, taste changes, and decreased appetite. For many patients, the type of cancer and treatment make it hard for them to eat well enough to take in all the calories required to maintain a healthy weight. However, certain types of treatment options can cause the body to retain fluids or increase a patient’s appetite so that they eat more, causing weight gain. These treatments include certain types of:

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The leading causes of involuntary weight loss are depression (especially in residents of long-term care facilities), cardiac disorders, and benign gastrointestinal diseases. A common concern for caregivers and patients alike is how to promote weight gain in a healthy way. During and after cancer treatment, it is important to provide your body with adequate nutrients like protein, vitamins, and minerals.

Malnutrition is common in people with cancer and occurs when there’s an imbalance of energy, protein, or other nutrients. Adding extra protein, fatsfats, and fluidssugar at mealtimes, or nutritional supplements, may help maintain weight. A patient’s doctor or dietitian can help with dietary advice. It is important to eat well, even when you have no appetite. A loss of appetite may occur as a result of a condition called “cachexia, ” or a metabolic change caused by the cancer itself or, which can also be affected by cancer treatments. If left unchecked, appetite loss may lead to serious weight loss and wasting of muscle marked by loss of strength, as well as compromised immune function. Malnutrition can reduce a patient’s strength, function, and quality of life.If you’re seeing an increase in body weight after your cancer treatment is complete, don’t worry: You are not alone. Many women face a significant weight gain when undergoing cancer treatment. While weight gain is extremely common during treatment, extra weight can negatively affect your self esteem and overall health. To give you a better idea of why your scale may be showing a higher number than usual, we’ve broken down the causes of weight gain during treatment along with some ways to manage your weight after.

As previously stated, an increase in weight during cancer treatment is completely normal. The below list highlights the ways different treatments may have affected your weight.

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While chemotherapy is considered to be more attributed to weight loss due to nausea being a common side effect, chemo can actually lead to weight gain. There are several reasons that chemo causes some people to gain weight:

Steroids may be used as a form of treatment to reduce inflammation and nausea. Unfortunately, while steroids prove extremely helpful for some, they are also notoriously linked to weight gain due to increases in appetite and fatty tissue.

Hormonal therapy is used to treat several types of cancer, including breast, uterine, testicular, and prostate. The medicines used help lower the amount of estrogen or progesterone in the human body. While this form of treatment is effective, some major side effects include an increase in weight due to an increase in fat deposits and a decrease in muscle and metabolism.

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As you can see, there are so many factors that may attribute to weight gain. This section covers simple ways to help shed the extra pounds.

Fad diets are exactly that: Fads. A blip in the radar of ‘THE EASIEST WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT’ trends. While no one should EVER choose to pursue a fad diet, this is especially crucial to those who have just completed cancer treatment. Your body needs all the nutrients it can get at this time. They might help you lose weight, but is important to lose weight in a healthy, balanced way. Furthermore, only 5% of people who lose weight on fad diets actually keep the weight off. Don’t fall for any ‘Lose 40 pounds in 2 weeks by only eating pickles’ or ‘Eat yourself skinny with taco shells!’. In other words, crash diets just won’t get the job done!

This may sound easier said than done (probably some days more than others!). Start out with some light exercises such as stretching and yoga, and move onto going for walks. Staying active will not only help maintain weight but can also leave you feeling better all over.

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Some days you might do really well with your eating habits or exercise regimen, while others may feel you feeling like you can’t even. This is normal - after all, your body has been put through the wringer. Cut yourself some slack on these days! Don’t force yourself to eat something that makes you nauseated or push yourself to exercise when your body demands relaxation.

Take everyday in stride and don’t get down on yourself if you slip up every now and then. Have any post-treatment weight loss tips or words of encouragement? Give us the deets in the comment section below!

It’s been a year and a half since my last chemo treatment I have follicular lymphoma. While on chemo I lost 8 pounds since then I’ve gained a whopping 28 pounds. I actually gained weight with cancer and heart disease. The feeling of hatred towards myself these days is not fun! I no longer look at myself in the mirror without asking myself “WHY?”. And I won’t talk about the menopause season I’m in the thick of as well. It’s always helpful to see others dealing with similar situations. I hope everyone gets to a happy place soon.

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It's been over 8 years since my last chemo treatment (gained about 40 pounds and it's stuck on me) and I have tried all kinds of things from nutritionists, doctors, supplements, exercise and of course eating good. My metabolism is just not there. No one seems to be able to help me - they just suggest the same old things. We can send a man to the moon but can't fix this. It is very disheartening, frustrating and depressing and nothing works! I hate my body.

I never had any type of counseling. I finished chemo 2 weeks ago and very anxious to loose this weight and work out again. It will take time. My doctor said it will be hard to lose the weight until I start a period. Currently in menopause and chemo brain is still pretty bad.

Thank you! This really helped and I don’t feel like I’m all alone. I tend to beat myself up because some days I can’t leave the sofa. This is a hard and emotional journey as well as lonely. I wish they took more time counseling cancer patients about the side effects from the steroids!In September 2016, I noticed that my right breast didn’t feel the same as my left. It had been painful for a few months, but I put it down tomenstrual pain and didn’t think much of it.

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When I noticed a thickening of the tissue, I took myself to the doctors. She examinedme, andput it down to hormones, possiblybecause ofbreast feeding and said it was nothing to worry about.

A year later, the thickening had started to become a lump. When I tried to make an appointment witha femaledoctor, I was told I would have to wait two weeks.

In those short few weeks, the lump began to grow. I could see it under my skin. I began to worry again.

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When I went for my appointment I was thrown into a new world of panic. Within the space of a few minutes my doctor was talking about urgentreferrals.

I wasofficiallydiagnosed with breast cancer on the 20thOctober. I felt numb. I was 37, with no family history of breast cancer. How could this be happening?

I didn’t cry for myself, I cried for my little boys, my husband and my family. I felt like I’d let them all down in the most devastating way.

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The talk soon turned to treatment. I was told I had a grade threetumourin my right breast. It was an invasive ductal, triple negative cancer. Due to my age and the nature of thetumourit was decided that I would have chemotherapy before surgery and finally a course of radiotherapy. The works!

The thought of chemo completely terrified me. I had a vision of a chemo patient in my head and it was a million miles away from who I was. One of the worstthings for me wasthat it was going to change the way I saw myself when I looked